{"id":99890,"date":"2021-07-14T04:11:46","date_gmt":"2021-07-14T04:11:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=99890"},"modified":"2021-07-14T05:57:49","modified_gmt":"2021-07-14T05:57:49","slug":"japans-all-star-freak-rivals-babe-ruth-feat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=99890","title":{"rendered":"Japan's All-Star 'freak' rivals Babe Ruth feat"},"content":{"rendered":"

There's no two ways about it – 6-foot-4 dual threat "freak" Shohei Ohtani<\/a> could be ushering in an era of two-way players.<\/p>\n

Hurler or hitter \u2014 why pick? 'Shotime' didn't.<\/p>\n

The Japanese Los Angeles Angels<\/a> pitcher\/hitter phenom pitched a perfect first inning in the All-Star Game. That was after he led off for the American League as the designated hitter, grounding out to second.<\/p>\n

\"Shohei<\/p>\n

It's a rare double dip.<\/p>\n

Not even Babe Ruth stayed with doing both for much more than two seasons before phasing out pitching.<\/p>\n

"It has to amaze everybody," Ohtani's home run-hitting rival Fernando Tatis Jr (28 HR) said during the All-Star game while mic'd up.<\/p>\n

\"Shohei<\/p>\n

"People ever wonder if they want to see the legend of Babe Ruth – this guy is getting started on the same path, so hopefully he can be healthy and keep it going. It's going to be great for the game.<\/p>\n

"What he's done in the first half of the season is amazing."<\/p>\n

At the plate, 27-year-old Ohtani leads Major League Baseball<\/a> with 33 homers, which is the most in franchise history at the All-Star break. On the mound, he's been just as dazzling with a 4-1 record and 87 strikeouts courtesy of a fastball that can touch 160km\/h.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheAthletic\/status\/1415110090592378881<\/a><\/p>\n

The time may be now to update the model, although most players concede they can't envision having enough time to practice both.<\/p>\n

"It always takes one to hopefully have a trend," said Freddie Freeman, a five-time All-Star for the Atlanta Braves.<\/p>\n

"I just don't know if anyone will do it like Shohei. That's one of a kind."<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/MLBStats\/status\/1415107070777516043<\/a><\/p>\n

Freeman was once a dual threat \u2014 he said he was drafted by one of two teams who viewed him as a hitter. The rest thought his future might be on the mound.<\/p>\n

He could've been like Ohtani.<\/p>\n

"My elbow would've blown," cracked Freeman, who was taken in the second round by the Braves in 2007. "My elbow was hurting in high school."<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/BenVerlander\/status\/1415107253988962305<\/a><\/p>\n

"Ohtani's a freak. But there's no reason somebody else can't do it," said St. Louis third baseman Nolan Arenado, who was a closer in high school. "It's an incredible talent. You're so valuable to a team if you help on both sides."<\/p>\n

The one obstacle: Finding time to practice both at a major-league level.<\/p>\n

"It seems like a lot of work and dangerous in a way, too \u2014 health-wise," Arenado said. "It's hard to do. … He's a special player. He's unique."<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/PlayBall\/status\/1415025780774539270<\/a><\/p>\n

Dodgers right-hander Walker Buehler remembers picking up a bat at Vanderbilt \u2014 and being told to set it right back down.<\/p>\n

"I didn't swing a bat for about five years," Buehler said. "But I get to Double-A and they're like, 'Hey, go get 'em.'<\/p>\n

"I'm very glad I don't have to try to (do both). I just try to get a hit every once in a while and feel good about that. I could never imagine doing what he's doing."<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/MLB\/status\/1415097330672488449<\/a><\/p>\n

Same with Cleveland right-hander Shane Bieber, the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner who won't pitch in the All-Star Game due to a shoulder ailment. Bieber knows all too well what it's like facing Ohtani the hitter.<\/p>\n

"Tough," explained Bieber, who's limited Ohtani to two hits in 10 at-bats. "I've never stepped in the box against him when he's on the mound. I don't really plan to.<\/p>\n

"What he's doing is nothing short of spectacular."<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/MLB\/status\/1413954225428738049<\/a><\/p>\n

Bieber said his days in the batter's box dwindled in high school for one reason: "I started sucking at hitting."<\/p>\n

"It seemed like pitching was a better way to go, a better opportunity for my future," recounted Bieber, a fourth-round pick by Cleveland in 2016 out of Santa Barbara.<\/p>\n

"The decision was kind of made for me. It sounds like (Ohtani) could open the door for a lot more guys to be able to continue their career as a two-way player instead of getting key-holed in one position or another."<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/MLBONFOX\/status\/1415025123791360001<\/a><\/p>\n

Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner threw a little bit as a kid. Or, as he described it: "I stood on the mound and threw some balls to the catcher."<\/p>\n

He can't fathom being a two-way threat like Ohtani.<\/p>\n

"Hitting is hard enough," Turner said. "But pitching every fifth or sixth day? Putting that on his plate is crazy. It's mind-blowing."<\/p>\n

\"Shohei<\/p>\n

For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/strong><\/em> clicking here<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There's no two ways about it – 6-foot-4 dual threat "freak" Shohei Ohtani could be ushering in an era of two-way players. Hurler or hitter […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99890"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=99890"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99890\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99892,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99890\/revisions\/99892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=99890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=99890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=99890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}